Bulger killers' new identities stop lynch mobs, says Jack Straw

Published on Wednesday 10 March 2010 21:59

JUSTICE Secretary Jack Straw yesterday defended the granting of new identities to the killers of James Bulger.

Court orders preventing the new names of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables becoming public helped stop "lynch mob" attacks, Mr Straw said. He told a committee of MPs that such injunctions were needed only in very rare cases when the subjects were in danger of being seriously injured or killed.

Judges have granted four such orders, covering Venables and Thompson as well as child killer Mary Bell and Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley.

Answering questions before the House of Commons justice committee, Mr Straw said the subjects of the orders faced the "serious prospect of being maimed or killed".

He added: "We don't have capital punishment in this country. We have never had rule by lynch mob, even when we did have capital punishment."

Mr Straw confirmed there would be a review of the handling of Venables' case if the 27-year-old is charged with a further offence.

Venables was returned to prison at the end of last month after breaching the terms of his release, reportedly for offences involving images showing child sex abuse.

Conservative leader David Cameron said yesterday that James's mother Denise Fergus should be given "a lot of information" about what Venables is alleged to have done to be recalled to custody.

But he said he accepted there might have to be a "delay" in making the information available to the public at large, in order to avoid prejudicing any trial.

Mr Cameron said in a TV interview: "I think she needs to be given a lot of information. She has suffered incredibly."